College of DuPage Theater's 'Badger' explores the lives of four women working the factory floor in World War II
The College of DuPage College Theater presents "Badger," Don Zolidis' tale of five young women working at the Badger Ordnance Works near Baraboo, Wisconsin, during World War II.
Facing dangerous work in a hostile work environment, the women bond through joy and heartbreak during the final years of the war at one of the largest munitions factories in the United States.
The production, directed by Amelia Barrett, opens Thursday, March 24 and continues through April 3. Performances will be 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays in the McAninch Arts Center Playhouse Theater on the Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd. Please note the play contains mature themes and language.
Much of the play takes place on the factory floor with massive pressing machines, vats, and conveyors that created the smokeless powder used in World War II.
The five women include: Eleanor Murray, a 20-year-old dreamer; Rose, a nervous, 18-year-old newlywed; Barbara, a 23-year-old mother determined to earn her own money; Irene Jacobs, a strong, forceful 21-year-old woman; and 19-year-old Grace, a free spirit, unattached, a bit of a hell raiser.
According to the director's note, the character of Rosie the Riveter is a mid-20th-century heroine. As America's war machine initiated a campaign to recruit women into the labor force in order to replace the millions of men who had gone off to war, a wide variety of songwriters, illustrators and photographers effectively invented the archetype as a symbol of both the war effort and a historic change in the American workplace. The historic migration of women into the workforce challenges us to recognize the contemporary issues and social pressures we still confront today.
On opening night, there will be a preshow discussion with the director and designers at 6:45 p.m. in MAC 140.
Tickets are $16 or $14 for students or seniors.
Tickets are available at www.atthemac.org/events/badger/ or call the MAC box office at (630) 942-4000. The box office is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to performance.
There also will be a post-show discussion with the director and actors following the Friday, April 1 performance.
A former high school and middle school theater teacher, Zolidis has written two novels and over 125 plays and one-acts.
For more information on the College of DuPage College Theater, contact Connie Canaday Howard, director of theater, at canaday@cod.edu or visit www.atthemac.org/college-theater/.